Empty
by Fullmetal Catastrophe
Summary: Orihime can't help but wonder, is Ulquiorra truly just a monster? One-shot, slight UlquiHime


In her short time at Hueco Mundo, Orihime had come to realise a few things: not everyone had good in them, even if it was the smallest, tiniest, most pathetic glimpse of well-meaning; she was positive no one in this god-forsaken pit of darkness had even that. She realised that there were some people who truly did care for no one but themselves, who would stay and watch the world burn in searing agony while they themselves stood silently without shedding so much as a single tear. But most important of all- she had come to realise her deepest, greatest fear. Not a stupid little scare that would make goose bumps appear on your bare skin when you're alone and make you bury your head under the safety of your duvet at night . Not something that you would laugh about while under the influence of peer pressure and make you secretly shiver inside. No, this certainly wasn't that- this was fear- a coldblooded nightmare that made you sink to your knees at the sight of it and start crying desperately despite your minds feeble attempts to stop.

What Orihime truly feared, she had realised, was emptiness- the dank, inescapable vortex of nothingness that left her shivering in a cold sweat. The fact someone could exist and yet simply not feel a thing- the fact that one day she could possibly fall into such a terrible state herself terrified her. And yet the very incarnation of emptiness stood before her, walking so calmly down a pristine corridor as if everything in the world was fine...and it terrified her.

But Orihime was a persistent young woman, and she perceived the good in everyone, be it a criminal on the run from the law, or even the vengeful ghost of her long deceased brother or even...Ichigo. Ichigo, ah yes, to say the girl was maddeningly in love with the strawberry-haired teen would be a severe understatement. She was obsessed with him, everyday she got up "hmm, what clothes would Ichigo like?" or "I wonder if Ichigo would like it if I styled my hair differently for once?" despite knowing full well Ichigo did not care for such insignificant things on a girl. Looking back, she could have laughed at how sickeningly in love with him she had been...no...no that was wrong wasn't it. She IS in love with him; she still is and she will probably always be. She hoped for the day he would break through the startlingly white walls Hueco Mundo and rescue her. Despite the time that had passed she still clung desperately to the hope of rescue, but reality would come riding in on swift winds soon and though she would never truly admit it to herself, she had already started to give up.

She remembered when she first met Ichigo, how he scared her but as time passed she started to love him. She learnt of the walls he put up to defend himself from the harsh realities of this would. It was not unheard of to Orihime for people to put up walls, she herself did it once- to protect herself from the bullies and the cruel reality of her brother's death. Then she met Tatsuki, and she didn't need to pretend she didn't care anymore, she could be happy again. It made her wonder, was this the same case as Ichigo? Was Ulquiorra's grim facade truly just an act? It was certainly possible, albeit unlikely. But there was still a chance, if she dug a little deeper would he show her the lighter colours of himself?

She doubted he would ever be nice, oh certainly not, no one in Hueco Mundo could ever show genuine kindness- of that she was sure. Still, some of them displayed regular human emotions from time to time: Grimmjow with his temper, Nnoitra with his confidence and Szayel with his curiosity. So you see? None of them were particularly nice emotions, that was for sure and they certainly didn't make her feel any safer, even with her protector. But it was a relief in a way- it showed Orihime that they still regained part of their humanity, they weren't completely monsters. Ulquiorra, however, displayed none of that, and it drove poor Orihime to the brink of tears to think he wasn't in touch with any part of his past humanity- to think that he was truly, just a monster.

Tap, tap, tap

The endless droning of her footsteps in the hallway snapped her out of her trance like state, how long had they been walking? A while she presumed, judging from the way her feet ached. Ulquiorra's footsteps were calm and made next to no sound, Orihime took their unrushed pace as a sign that where they were headed was unimportant enough that they did not have to rush to get there. She breathed a sigh of relief, anything important usually meant Aizen was involved, and she certainly was in no dire need to see him again anytime soon.

Looking up at her 'guard' Orihime noted the robotic way he walked, his posture was exactly that of a mindless drone, even with his hands dug deep into his pockets. The uniform he wore: black and white, the blank colours that decorated everything in sight inside Hueco Mundo and made everything look like a twisted dream...or a nightmare.

"Um, Excuse me?"

Her own words shocked Orihime most; she had said something without knowing what she would say next. Well, she did know, but how could she exactly say it? Ulquiorra gave no sign of reacting; he carried on walking at exactly the same pace, she hoped he simply didn't hear.

"What is it?"

It wasn't a question, it was a demand- a demand that she say what she wanted to ask then shut up afterwards. Orihime ended up sucking back in the breath she had blown out in relief a second beforehand.

"Well...um...I...Just...Wanted to...um"

What could she possibly say? He was an arrancar for goodness sake, if he didn't like what she asked him, Orihime was quite sure he would kill her.

"Do you...feel?"

Ulquiorra stopped walking completely, just standing there in the desolate hallway of Hueco Mundo, shoulders tensed. Orihime's heart hammered against her ribcage, her collar become uncomfortably tight, to the point of near suffocation.

'You've done it now Orihime, he'll kill you'

He turned his head slowly, his eyes filled with an unexplainable emotion. It had always shocked Orihime how eyes that were so beautiful in colour, could frighten her so much. They now locked onto her own honey-coloured gaze, piercing her body and reaching into the depths of her mind and memory. Unknown to Orihime, her question had gripped Ulquiorra more than he had let show.

'_He's going to kill me'_

'_He's going to kill me'_

'_He's going to kill me'_

A familiar fear struck Orihime; she was unable to move, unable to scream, unable to cry. She was completely at the mercy of his malice-filled gaze.

"No"

Just like that, he turned around and continued walking, leaving Orihime in shock behind him. Her body trembled and her eyes began to water as a result of her previous gut-wrenching fear. She lifted an arm to frantically wipe away the falling tears as her feet scrambled across the polished floor to catch to him- who was now speeding ahead; his own heart giving low thumps against his ribcage as his mind slowly worked gears in a mute attempt to answer her question.

'_...Not anymore'_

Fin

_Wow, I never intended for this to come out as depressing as it did. First fanfic on this account- whoohoo! I intended for this to be more Ulquihime, but I realise there a Ichihime part as well, oops. Ah well the reader can choose which pairing they prefer, but I'm more a Ulquihime person personally..._

_Mind R&R for me? I'd love to know how I did, constructive criticism is fine by me. Oh, and for those who want to flame me, mind leaving it to another time? This is my first fanfiction and I don't feel like being scared out of making another one on my first attempt._


End file.
